


Bang On The Drum

by chucklingChemist



Category: Original Work
Genre: Ambiguous Protagonist - Freeform, Attempt at Humor, Gen, Gratuitously Ohio, Inspired by r/Ohio, Mentions of Witchcraft, Ohio, Ohio Gothic, POV Second Person, Post-Apocalypse, please don't take it seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:28:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22668559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chucklingChemist/pseuds/chucklingChemist
Summary: You were on the run through the broken kingdoms in the land of Ohio for a crime you didn't commit, looking for the fabled Republic of Athens. But some believe it doesn't exist, and if it does you have to make it through the wilderness first.Inspired by the "How I View Ohio As A Columbusite" map (linked in notes) and written down because I couldn't get this stupid idea out of my head.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Bang On The Drum

**Author's Note:**

> "Write for yourself" they said. "Don't write for anyone else" they said. So I wrote 1500 words inspired by a comedic post from [r/Ohio](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ohio/comments/16u93b/how_i_view_ohio_as_a_columbusite/) that made me think about a club I'm not in, in a college I don't go to, and I'm not even sure it would necessarily appeal to them.
> 
> Anyway, to the imaginary person reading this in OU's ski club, I sincerely hope you enjoy

You weren’t sure how long you traveled.

Initially, you remembered counting seven passes of the sun and moon during your travel through the wilderness. Somewhere though, you don’t know where, you lost count. Now it felt as though you continued through hellish fever dream alone, lost in the proverbial hedge of woods and ruin. Perhaps you deserved it: back in Toledo you had been hunted down for crimes you hadn’t committed – for how could you stir revolts when no one even knows who you are? – and instead of taking the harsh punishment, you ran. Ran with no idea of a destination, much less a direction. By the time you bothered to ask for a direction, you found yourself south of the kingdom of Canton, all the way down in a small territory owned by the Dover Lords. The traveling merchants there were happy to accept your coin in exchange for food and water. They warned you going further south would bring much hardship: while you might be able to establish a life as a small farmer away from civilization further south if you got lucky, survival was slim. Go to the Empire of Columbus with them, they urged. No one knows your name if you are new in Columbus. You would be safe.

But you knew better. You watched the way the guards in the Cleveland-Akron Commonwealth shifted back and forth uncomfortably upon seeing your face, increasing your desire to leave immediately. No doubt Toledo’s fearless leader told them about you. It was only a matter of time before it reached the other major kingdoms.

You thanked them for their consideration, but the talk of settling away from civilization appealed to you at the time. You assumed all the tales of monsters and barbarians were just that: tales. And the weather was temperate. Not at all like the myths of sunny days and warm weather from foreign lands further south, but better than the frigid winds and icy hells you were used to. No matter how awful the Wilderness supposedly was, it had to be better than _that_.

At first you found yourself agreeing with your words. The first denizens of the land, a couple formerly from the Kingdom of Cincinnati, you came across were kind to your plight. They too had been chased out: them, for practicing witchcraft. Even you knew Cincinnati’s strict rules on religion. Toledo might have many problems, after all, but being greeted by signs proclaiming one’s own damnation wasn’t one of them. They settled further up north, and upon meeting you and commiserating they were happy to show you how to forage for food and resources, how to pitch a shelter and make a fire. Most importantly, they told you about the Republic of Athens: a beacon of freedom to anyone looking for it. Those there answered to no gods, no kings, merely their fellow countrymen. This freedom made it a haven for science and sin alike. For you, what appealed was their limited access from the outside world. Athens was unlikely to have heard about your supposed crimes. You would be safe.

Yet, finding the republic appeared to be an impossibility. The deeper into the Wilderness you went, the less those still of sound mind knew who and what you spoke of. They believed it to be little more than a myth, a fable to keep morale in such a dangerous land aloft. Some even went so far as to tell you to give up chasing a pipe dream.

Still, you persisted.

You went deeper into the wilderness, scrounging for what you could get on your own. The deeper you ventured through the wilderness, the worse it became. Packs of seemingly feral dogs chased after deer, both so unused to people they approached you fearlessly, sniffing you as if you’re a plant to be studied. At night, the sound of coyotes yipping and howling, almost like laughter, kept you awake as you prayed they would keep their distance. For a few days, the paranoia drove you to travel exclusively at night. At least then, if you heard them, you could try to travel away from their howls.

Then came the gunshots. You never saw who shot them, granted. You only heard them. Heard them behind you. Heard them ahead of you. Heard them to the side, circling around seemingly akin to the coyotes of the night. Sometimes, it was paired with explosions and a sudden, unbearable heat. Smoke billowed up over the treetops. At one point, against your better mind, you traveled toward the source of the fire. All you found was the crumbled, charred wooden skeleton of what was once a trailer, long since stripped of any aluminum siding. There was a peculiar smell in the air at that place, something strange that gave the whole place an aura of malice, but once you saw it you dared not travel further. You merely made a note of it and turned the other direction.

More commonly though, whenever you heard explosions you would hear the revving of diesel engines away from the source. The shape of the hills always made it sound like they were revving toward you, but they never did. At least, you hoped. It was better than the alternative.

After the one that got too close for comfort, you traveled by daylight again.

You no longer agreed with your past self who believed this would be easy, but simultaneously you had come so far. You couldn’t just back out at this point. You would either find the Republic or die here, picked up by wildmen or wolves.

You’re not sure at what point you first heard it, but you knew _where_ you were. Along the river, fastening a net to fish for something along the river in a secluded spot. The sun was high in the sky, but with the dense woods of the area it hardly affected you. The noise was so faint at first you mistook it for something else, perhaps some travelers or wildmen talking to themselves to keep the predators away, but the longer it went, it became unmistakable.

Music.

_I don’t want to work  
I want to bang on the drum all day._

At first, you ignored it. You remembered the tales others have told you about how other’s minds warped after spending too long in isolation. Hearing such distinct music, even a whole melody like this, could be a sign of that. If other travelers believed you were chasing a pipe dream already, running after music that could be wholly in your head was _definitely_ chasing it.

Still, you couldn’t deny the longer you sat and fished, it somehow steadily intensified in volume.

_I don’t want to play. I just want to bang on the drum all day_

In a moment of excitement, you dropped everything as you ran in a dead sprint toward the source of the noise. Thick foliage or no, it got distinctly louder the more you ran. Once faint vocals became crisp and distinct in your ears. Soon you could even hear the background – the clapping, the drums, everything coming together to create a song, so unique yet pointedly familiar in your current state.

_Ever since I was a little boy  
I don’t want no candy  
I don’t need no toy_

It felt like you were running for hours. Still the song played, seemingly infinitely louder and louder. It would stop soon, you reasoned. If it stopped, you would stop. For once in however long, you thought you might find the fabled Republic.

_She caught me pounding the desk with my hands  
But my licks were so hot, I made my teacher wanna dance  
And that’s why  
I don’t wanna work  
I want to bang on the drum all day_

You ran until your legs can’t carry you any longer, and you collapse in a heap of leaves. The song continued to bang and rattle around in your head, yet you can no longer move.

“Hey! I think I found one over here!” a voice – feminine maybe? It’s hard to tell with the music playing – exclaimed.

There’s a loud crunch of leaves and mix of footsteps toward your location. The song continued to play, and somewhere in your head you realize it’s a loop. A loop of drum banging and joyous singing, never stopping yet never truly starting as the singer shouted nonsense.

Something ...no, _someone_ rolled you over. With the sun directly over top of them, you can’t make anything notable about their features outside of the angelic halo around their head as they check you over. A quick glance at the others revealed only more. The other person appeared to be missing a leg, or at least damage one of them irreparably if the cane indicated anything, yet still stood as if he had two perfectly functioning ones. His rather loose interpretation of appropriate clothing for the area made the crackling scars around his body instantly noticeable.

“Where….where am I?” you asked. “More importantly, who are you?”

“We’re the Adventuring, Scouting and Seeking group of the Republic of Athens. We’re dedicated to helping people find refuge out there.” They smiled, and for the first time in a long time you felt like you belonged. “Welcome home.”

_I don’t want to play.  
I want to bang on the drum all day._


End file.
